Daniel Makes Room For a Brother or Sister

Name: Daniel (2) and sibling on the way (Sept.)Location: Perth, Western Australia

We are expecting our fifth child, and after moving into our beautiful new home a year ago, we still had to give quite some thought as to what the new sleeping arrangements are going to be. The older three children all have bedrooms that they (and I love) and weren't keen to rearrange (two boys in one room, and our only girl in a room of her own). Given that having the baby in our room is not an option in my mind, we have decided to put the new baby in with the two-year-old and pray that they both transition smoothly!

I bought neutral bedlinen (we don't know the gender of our baby), including an extra quilt cover set which I will cut in half to make coordinating cot quilt covers when the baby outgrows the cradle.

My husband Phil made Daniel's bed (we have a matching one which fits on top to make a bunk bed when we need it) and Phil's dad made the cradle. (Phil and his four brothers slept in it as babies, as well as our own four children). The rocking chair was a gift from friends.

Daniel is excited about his new 'treasure drawers' (white HELMER drawer unit from IKEA). All our children have one of these for storing (and sorting) their treasures in. I bought one for baby already too - perfect for containing baby paraphernalia until the baby is old enough to accumulate his/her own junk treasure.

The elephants, Parsley and Beet, were made with one of Jodie Carleton's gorgeous patterns. Visit her blog to see more of her wonderful handiwork, including my new favourite, Red Riding Hood.

To add a splash of colour to the otherwise neutral room, I screenprinted and stitched up some large softies. These are based on early drawings by each of the older three children. On the wall above the cradle is one of my own artquilts, 'Crawl', which actually features Daniel as a baby.

The art wall (which includes a built in wardrobe and drawers) features a cross stitch which Phil's mum made when Phil was little, and a print by a dear friend.

Thanks Ruth! Readers, visit Ruth's blog to see her textile art and for inspiring ideas for creating art with kids.